Picture frame joint

ABSTRACT

A picture frame includes a pair of members having beveled ends which are adapted to be positioned adjacent one another to form a miter joint. Dowel means is positioned within aligned holes formed in the beveled ends. Each of these beveled ends includes a groove formed therein, the grooves being aligned with one another, the members each also having a hole formed therein substantially at one end of the groove therein. A holding means in the form of a one-piece generally U-shaped resilient metal clip is provided, the legs of this clip fitting within the holes formed in the members, and the connecting portion of the clip between the legs being positioned within the aligned grooves.

United States Patent 869,055 10/1907 Burroughs Inventors Douglas Merrilees Northfield; Quentin A. Malmquist, Post Mills, Vt. Appl. No. 813,920 Filed Apr. 7, 1969 Patented Mar. 30, 1971 Assignee Weatherboard Products, lnc.

Wolcott, Vt.

PICTURE FRAME JOINT 3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 287/20.92, 52/585, 287/189.36 Int. Cl F16b 7/00 Field of Search 287/20.92

(E), 20.92 (D), 189.36 (H)(CurS01'y), 20.92 (C), 20.924, 20.925, 20.926; 52/585, 656; 4/237, 239, 234, 235, 238, 217

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 908,011 12/1908 Knott 4/237 FOREIGN PATENTS 942,283 11/1963 Great Britain 287/20.92D

Primary ExaminerDavid J Williamowsky Assistant Examiner-Wayne L. Shedd Att0rneyShoemaker and Mattare ABSTRACT: A picture frame includes a pair of members having beveled ends which are adapted to be positioned adjacent one another to form a miter joint. Dowel meansis positioned within aligned holes formed in the beveled ends. Each of these beveled ends includes a groove formed therein, the grooves being aligned with one another, the members each also having a hole formed therein substantially at one end of the groove therein. A holding means in the form of a one-piece generally U-shaped resilient metal clip is provided, the legs of this clip fitting within the holes formed in the members, and the connecting portion of the clip between the legs being positioned within the aligned grooves.

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INVENTORS DOUGLAS MERRILEES 8| QUENTIN A. MALMQUST NW0? V ATTORNEYS morons FRAME JOINT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a picture frame joint and is particularly directed to a picture frame arrangement wherein the picture frame may be sold as a do-it-yourself kit and the members thereof may be readily assembled and disassembled by a purchaser without requiring any special skills or tools.

Although the arrangement must be such that it can be readily assembled, it must also at the same time provide a very rigid and strong finished product wherein relative movement of the picture frame members with respect toone another is positively prevented. Additionally, the finished picture frame must provide a neat and attractive appearance so that the product is aesthetically satisfactory.

It is important to provide a relatively simple and inexpensive construction which may be sold for an economical price and which incorporates the above-desired characteristics.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The rigid picture frame members of the present invention include beveled ends adapted to be disposed adjacent one another to provide a miter joint. Aligned holes are provided in these beveled ends for receiving a dowel for properly aligning the picture frame members with respect to one another.

Additionally, each of the beveled ends is provided with a groove, adjacent grooves being aligned withone another when the picture frame members are disposed in assembled relationship. Each frame member also includes a hole disposed substantially at one end of the groove formed therein.

A holding means in the form of a one-piece resilient metal clip is provided, the legs of this metal clip fitting within the holes formed in the picture frame members, while the connecting portion of the clip between the legs is received in the associated grooves.

The legs of the holding means prevent separation of the frame members from one another since the holes receiving these legs extend substantially parallel with one another. Additionally, the connecting portion of the clip which lies within the aligned grooves formed in the frame members prevents relative rotation of the frame members about the axis of the dowel.

It is a simple matter to assemble the picture. frame of the present invention. The dowel is inserted in the hole in the beveled end of one of the frame members and the beveled end of an adjacent frame member is then brought into place so that the dowel extends within the aligned holes of the ends of the two frame members with the beveled ends disposed in abutting relationship with one another.

The grooves in the ends of the two frame members are then aligned with one another and the holding means is moved into operative position by inserting the legs thereof into the holes in the two frame members. The holding means is then pushed inwardly as far as possible so that the connecting portion thereof lies within the aligned grooves formed in the frame members.

If desired, glue may be associated with the dowel means to provide a more permanent arrangement, but this is not necessary in order to provide the desired end results.

It is apparent that the arrangement of the present invention may be readily assembled and disassembled without requiring any special tools or skills on the part of the person assembling the structure. The finished product is very rigid and strong and relative movement between the parts is positively prevented. The picture frame joint of the present invention is quite simple and inexpensive-in construction, and yet at the same time provides a very neat and attractive finished appearance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a front view of a picture frame according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear view partly broken away and on an enlarged scale of a joint between two frame members of the picture frame shown in FIG. ll;

FIG. 3 is a top perspective exploded view of a joint according to the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale taken substantially along line 4-4 of FIG. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows. l

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawing wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, a picture frame according to the present invention is indicated generally by reference numeral 10 in FIG. 1 of the drawing. This picture frame includes a pair of longer side members 12 and I4 and shorter side members I6and I8 extending between and being interconnected with the side members 12 and 14. These frame members include generally parallel front and rear surfaces, and the front surfaces of these members as seen in FIG. I are provided with a desired finish. As illustrated, the frame members are provided with longitudinally extending ribs to provide a so-called weatherboard" finish. It is evident that these frame members can be provided with any finish as desired.

It should be understood that theconstruction of members 16 and 18 is substantially identical with one another, and the construction of the frame members 12 and I4 is substantially identical with one another. The jointat each corner of the picture frame is also substantially the same, and, accordingly, the joint at one corner of the frame will be described.

Referring now to FIGS. 2-4 inclusive, the rear surface of frame member 18 is provided with longitudinally extending recesses 20 and 22 formed at the inner and outer edges thereof respectively; and in a similar manner, the rear surface of frame member 12 is provided with longitudinally extending recesses 24 and 26 at the inner and outer edges thereof.

As seen most clearly in FIG. 2, frame members 12 and 18 are provided with beveled ends 12' and 18' respectively which are adapted to be disposed in abutting relationship with one another to provide a miter joint. Since the frame members are disposed substantially perpendicular to one another, the beveled ends of each of the frame members will be cut on a 45 angle as will be apparent.

The beveled ends 12' and 18 are provided with generally cylindrical holes 30 and 32 respectively. These holes extend substantially perpendicular to the associated beveled ends and are disposed in aligned relationship when the frame is in the operative position. These aligned holes receive a complementary cylindrical dowel 34 to properly align the frame members with respect to one another.

Frame members 12 and 18 are provided with grooves 40 and 42 respectively. Each of these grooves extend substantially parallel to the front and rear surfaces of the associated frame member. The grooves are each spaced a substantial distance from the adjacent front and rear surfaces so as to be formed in an intermediate portion of the associated frame member. The two grooves are aligned with one another when the frame members are disposed in assembled relationship with respect to one another.

Frame members 12 and 18 also have holes 50 and 52 formed therein respectively. These holes are generally cylindn'cal and extend substantially parallel to the front and rear surfaces of the associated frame members as well as being parallel with the beveled end of the associated frame member. Each of these holes is formed in the frame member substantially at one end of the groove in the associated frame member as seen in FIG. 2, and it will further be noted that the holes 50 and 52 are disposed substantially parallel with one another when the frame members are in operative position.

A holding means indicated generally by reference numeral 60 in FIG. 3 of the drawings comprises a one-piece resilient metal clip which; may be formed of spring steel or the like. This holding means includes a pair of spaced generally parallel legs 62 and 64 interconnected with one another-by a connecting bight portion 66. It is noted that the overall configurations of the holding means is generally U-shaped.

The legs 62 and 64 of the holding means are received within the holes 50 and 52 formed in frame members 12 and 18 respectively.

When the holding means 60 is disposed in the operative position shown in FIG. 2, the connecting portion 66 thereof 5 will lie within the aligned grooves 40 and 42 of the frame members 12 and 18 so as to rigidly hold the frame members in the operative position illustrated. As clearly illustrated in this FlG., the connecting portion of the U-shaped member includes segments which follow the configuration of the outer edge of the frame and which substantially close the groove thus presenting a flush outer edge surface on the frame and obviating the necessity of providing a separate member to close or fill the groove.

The picture frame joint of the present invention may be readily assembled simply by placing the dowel 34 in the aligned holes 30 and 32, and then forcing the holding means 60 into the operative position illustrated in FIG. 2. If it is desired to subsequently disassemble the frame for any reason, this sequence of steps can be reversed. In actual use, the arrangement of the present invention provides a very rigid and strong finished product which at the same time provides a neat and attractive aesthetic appearance.

As this invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, the present embodiment is therefore illustrative and not restrictive, and since the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims, all changes that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims or that form their functional as well as conjointly cooperative equivalents are therefore intended to be embraced by those claims.

We claim:

1. A picture frame comprising:

a plurality of elongate members interconnected at their ends to form said frame;

each of said elongate members having a front side, a back side, an inner edge, an outer edge, and beveled ends, the beveled ends being in mating abutting relationship;

a hole formed in each beveled end adjacent the inner edge of said member and extending normally to said beveled end, the holes in adjacent elongate members being in axial alignment;

a dowel pin received in said aligned holes to prevent relative lateral movement between said abutting beveled ends;

a groove formed in the outer edge of each elongate member in a plane parallel to and between the front and back sides of said elongate member and extending through an outer edge portion of said beveled end;

a hole formed in each elongate member in the plane of said groove and extending from the point of intersection of said groove with said outer edge in a direction parallel to said beveled edge; and

a holding means received in said grooves and said last named holes and comprising a generally U-shaped member having spaced generally parallel legs and a bight portion joining said legs, said legs received in said holes and said bight portion received in said grooves, said bight portion including a segment extending parallel to and generally in the plane of said outer edge of each elongate member so that said bight portion conforms generally to the configuration of the outer edge corner portion of an assembled frame to close the groove and present a substantially smooth, flush outer surface on said outer edge comer portion.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said holding means is of a one-piece resilient construction.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said holding means comprises a metal clip. 

1. A picture frame comprising: a plurality of elongate members interconnected at their ends to form said frame; each of said elongate members having a front side, a back side, an inner edge, an outer edge, and beveled ends, the beveled ends being in mating abutting relationship; a hole formed in each beveled end adjacent the inner edge of said member and extending normally to said beveled end, the holes in adjacent elongate members being in axial alignment; a dowel pin received in said aligned holes to prevent relative lateral movement between said abutting beveled ends; a groove formed in the outer edge of each elongate member in a plane parallel to and between the front and back sides of said elongate member and extending through an outer edge portion of said beveled end; a hole formed in each elongate member in the plane of said groove And extending from the point of intersection of said groove with said outer edge in a direction parallel to said beveled edge; and a holding means received in said grooves and said last named holes and comprising a generally U-shaped member having spaced generally parallel legs and a bight portion joining said legs, said legs received in said holes and said bight portion received in said grooves, said bight portion including a segment extending parallel to and generally in the plane of said outer edge of each elongate member so that said bight portion conforms generally to the configuration of the outer edge corner portion of an assembled frame to close the groove and present a substantially smooth, flush outer surface on said outer edge corner portion.
 2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said holding means is of a one-piece resilient construction.
 3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said holding means comprises a metal clip. 